1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of automated speech systems and, more particularly, to a dialect translator for a speech application environment that is extended for interactive text exchanges, where the dialect translator dynamically translates text-based input including text exchange slang and emotes into a speech dialect consumable by a voice server.
2. Description of the Related Art
Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems are often used to provide automated customer service via a voice channel of a communication network. IVR systems permit routine customer requests to be quickly, efficiently, and automatically handled. When a request is non-routine or when a caller has difficulty with the IVR system, a transfer can be made from the IVR system to a customer service representative. Even when human interactions are needed, the IVR system can obtain necessary preliminary information, such as an account number and a reason for a call, which can ensure callers are routed to an appropriate human agent and to ensure human-to-human interactive time is minimized. Successful use of IVR systems allows call centers to be minimally manned while customers are provided a high level of service with relatively low periods spent in waiting queues.
IVR systems, especially robust ones having natural language understanding (NLU) capabilities and/or large context free grammars, represent a huge financial and technological investment. This investment includes costs for purchasing and maintaining IVR infrastructure hardware, IVR infrastructure software, and voice applications executing upon this infrastructure. An additional and significant reoccurring cost can relate to maintaining a sufficient number of voice quality channels to handle anticipated call volumes. Further, each of these channels consumes an available port of a voice server, which has a limited number of costly ports. Each channel also consumes a quantity of bandwidth needed for establishing a voice quality channel between a caller and the IVR system.
One innovative solution for extending an IVR infrastructure to permit text-based interactive services is detailed in co-pending patent application Ser. No. 11/612,996 entitled “Using an Automated Speech Application Environment to Automatically Provide Text-Based Interactive Services.” More specifically, the co-pending application teaches that a chat robot object, referred to as a Chatbot, can dynamically convert text received from a text exchange client to input consumable by a voice server and can dynamically convert output from the voice server to text appropriately formatted for the client. From a perspective of the voice server, the text-based interactions, with the text exchange client are handled in the same manner and with the same hardware/software that is used to handle voice-based interactions.
Dynamic conversions between a text exchange client, such as a chat client, and an IVR infrastructure are complicated by an existence of a text exchange dialect. That is, a text exchange dialect has evolved that is not easily converted into speech phrases comprehensible or by a standard speech recognition engine or consumable by a standard IVR infrastructure. For example, slang such as “cu l8r” for “see you later” and “brb” for “be right back” is commonly utilized during text exchange communication sessions. Additionally, special character sequences unique to text exchanges, such as emoticons like ;˜) and :˜0, need to be handled. No known software products exist that dynamically convert text exchange input into input able to be consumed by a voice server, nor do solutions exist that dynamically handle dialect translations for the same purpose.